Our 2020 Grammy predictions: Will Billie Eilish, Lizzo or Lil Nas X win the night?
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Ahead of Sunday’s ceremony at Staples Center, three of The Times’ music experts — August Brown, Randall Roberts and Mikael Wood — along with three-time Grammy-winning R&B star Ne-Yo — predict who’s likely to win music’s most prestigious awards.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“I, I” — Bon Iver
“Norman F— Rockwell!” — Lana Del Rey
“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” — Billie Eilish (predicted to win by Brown, Ne-Yo, Roberts, Wood)
“Thank U, Next” — Ariana Grande
“I Used to Know Her” — H.E.R.
“7” — Lil Nas X
“Cuz I Love You” (Deluxe) — Lizzo
“Father of the Bride” — Vampire Weekend
Wood: “From Alanis Morissette to Taylor Swift, the Grammys have always loved a wunderkind, and never more than when the youngster in question, Eilish, has clearly been paying attention to history.”
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Hey, Ma” — Bon Iver
“Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish (Brown)
“7 Rings” — Ariana Grande
“Hard Place” — H.E.R.
“Talk” — Khalid
“Old Town Road” — Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (Ne-Yo, Roberts, Wood)
“Truth Hurts” — Lizzo
“Sunflower” — Post Malone and Swae Lee
Ne-Yo: “There was no escaping ‘Old Town Road’ last year. All good, didn’t want to.”
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Always Remember Us This Way” — Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) (Wood)
“Bring My Flowers Now” — Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
“Hard Place” — Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris, H.E.R. and Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“Lover” — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
“Norman F— Rockwell!” — Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
“Someone You Loved” — Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn and Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
“Truth Hurts” — Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson and Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo) (Brown, Ne-Yo, Roberts)
Roberts: “‘Truth Hurts’ is the unifier in a field dotted with excellent genre songs, plus had the best couplet: ‘Why men great ‘til they gotta be great?/ Don’t text me tell it straight to my face.’”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Black Pumas
Billie Eilish (Brown)
Lil Nas X
Lizzo (Ne-Yo, Roberts, Wood)
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola
Wood: “Lizzo’s records aren’t always great. But at a moment when pop stardom is a multimedia pursuit, nobody takes better command of a platform.”
POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Spirit” — Beyoncé
“Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish (Brown, Ne-Yo)
“7 Rings” — Ariana Grande (Roberts, Wood)
“Truth Hurts” — Lizzo
“You Need to Calm Down” — Taylor Swift
Wood: “A trap-pop banger built on an indelible Rodgers & Hammerstein sample, ‘7 Rings’ excites the kids and reassures the olds.”
POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
“Boyfriend” — Ariana Grande and Social House
“Sucker” — Jonas Brothers
“Old Town Road” — Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (Brown, Ne-Yo, Roberts, Wood)
“Sunflower” — Post Malone & Swae Lee
“Senorita” — Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
Roberts: “When Nashville oldster Cyrus saddled up to join Lil Nas X, the song galloped into the mainstream. That success should ensure a victory, though Mendes and Cabello were nearly as ubiquitous.”
POP VOCAL ALBUM
“The Lion King: The Gift” — Beyoncé
“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” — Billie Eilish (Brown, Ne-Yo)
“Thank U, Next” — Ariana Grande (Roberts, Wood)
“No. 6 Collaborations Project” — Ed Sheeran
“Lover” — Taylor Swift
Brown: “Few albums got snubbed harder than Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ this year. Does Grammy throw a crumb her way for pop vocal album? Probably not in a year with a groundbreaking act like Eilish.”
ROCK ALBUM
“Amo” — Bring Me the Horizon
“Social Cues” — Cage the Elephant (Roberts, Wood)
“In the End” — The Cranberries (Brown, Ne-Yo)
“Trauma” — I Prevail
“Feral Roots” — Rival Sons
Roberts: “With Imagine Dragons and Foo Fighters not on the ballot, expect voters to go with the L.A. band Cage the Elephant.”
ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
“U.F.O.F.” — Big Thief (Brown)
“Assume Form” — James Blake
“I,I” — Bon Iver
“Father of the Bride” — Vampire Weekend (Ne-Yo, Roberts, Wood)
“Anima” — Thom Yorke
Brown: “In a category dominated by Gen X and Very Elder Millennials, beloved indie rockers Big Thief are the only act with any new buzz in this category.”
R&B ALBUM
“1123” — BJ the Chicago Kid
“Painted” — Lucky Daye (Ne-Yo)
“Ella Mai” — Ella Mai (Brown, Roberts, Wood)
“Paul” — PJ Morton
“Ventura” — Anderson .Paak
Brown: “Lucky Daye will please the purists and the multi-threat Anderson .Paak is now an arena star, but Ella Mai had the inescapable hit ‘Boo’d Up’ alongside a top five debut.”
URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
“Apollo XXI” — Steve Lacy
“Cuz I Love You” (Deluxe) — Lizzo (Brown, Ne-Yo, Roberts, Wood)
“Overload” — Georgia Anne Muldrow
“Saturn” — NAO
“Being Human in Public” — Jessie Reyez
Roberts: “Lizzo’s a safe bet, even if singer-producer Muldrow and producer-songwriter Lacy issued more expansive ‘urban contemporary’ (whatever that is) albums last year.”
RAP ALBUM
“Revenge of the Dreamers III” — Dreamville
“Championships” — Meek Mill (Ne-Yo)
“I Am > I Was” — 21 Savage
“Igor” — Tyler, the Creator (Brown, Roberts, Wood)
“The Lost Boy” — YBN Cordae
Ne-Yo: “Love to see the triumphant comeback. They tried to count out Meek Mill and he wouldn’t let them.”
COUNTRY ALBUM
“Desperate Man” — Eric Church
“Stronger Than the Truth” — Reba McEntire (Ne-Yo)
“Interstate Gospel” — Pistol Annies
“Center Point Road” — Thomas Rhett
“While I’m Livin’” — Tanya Tucker (Brown, Roberts, Wood)
Wood: “Tucker’s self-conscious comeback effort would feel like a lock even without production by Grammy fave Brandi Carlile.”
LATIN ROCK/URBAN/ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
“X 100PRE” — Bad Bunny
“Oasis” — J Balvin & Bad Bunny (Ne-Yo)
“Indestructible” — Flor De Toloache
“Almadura” — iLe
“El Mal Querer” — Rosalía (Brown, Roberts, Wood)
Brown: “With Bad Bunny splitting his vote across two projects, Rosalía looks pretty strong after a huge year commercially and a Grammy-bait sound both classic and progressive.”
